Garment trimming machine



Feb. 5, 1952. RUBIN GARMENT TRLIMMING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheetfl FiledJan. 5, 1951 m T. m. w. .n |/O B a L z w i 0 w 5%, Q a J w 0 a y WJULIUS RUBIN ATTORNEY Feb. 5, 1952 J. RUBIN 2,584,620

GARMENT TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ZY Z8INVENTOR.

JULIUS RUBIN BY m4 ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE-1',

2,584,620 GARMENT TRIMMING MACHINE.

Julius Rubin, New York, N. Y. Application January 5, 1951, Serial No.204,640

(eras-v.)

This invention relates to cutters for threads and fabric strips or thelike such as may be found on dresses or other clothing after a sewingoperation, which threads or fabric strips must be removed. I

It is well understood that in a garment making factory, the parts of thegarment are sewn together on various types of high speed sewingmachines, and such operations generally leave threads or fabric stripsdangling from the sewn garment. An operator must. then trim such threadsor strips and may do so with an ordinary scissors. In the case ofthreads, the industry has begun considerable use of trimming machineswhich comprise cutters having a plurality of teeth similar to devicesused'bybarbers in trimming hair. However, such machines. are inadequatefor trimming strips such as ribbons, piping or elastic because the teethwill not accept such larger pieces of material. As .a result, thetrimming of such strips requires time and attention which adds to thecost of producing the garments and reduces production.

In accordance with the instant invention, a machine is provided whichnot only trims hanging threads or the like but which is formed so as tofurther trim such strips as normally are found in the garment afterleaving the sewing machines. The foregoing is accomplished by providinga special cutter assembly which reciprocates by virtue of the samemotive power which drives the thread cutter and in which the vacuum orsuction which ordinarily draws the threads into the thread cutter isalso applied to the strip cutter, either selectively or simultaneouslywith its application to the thread cutter. A special train of mechanismfor transferring the motive power to both the thread cutter and thestrip cutter is provided. The respective cutters are so disposed in themechanism that a garment is very speedily and conveniently trimmed ofall its superfluous hanging parts while providing an apparatus thereforwhich is economical in construction and efficient in use. It has beenfound that a machine. of this type speeds production to a gratifyingextent while saving on labor costs as will be evident. Theparticularmechanism shown is of importance in that it ensures anefficient and reliable machine at a minimum of production cost.

The invention will be further understood from the following descriptionand drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view in somewhatdiagrammatic form illustrating the complete ap paratus and the powerequipment therefor,

14 Claims.

Fig. 2. is. an elevational view ofthe-right-hand side of the machine.

Fig. 3. is a top plan view.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of side, of the machine.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view as taken along the lines,6-16 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the underside of the thread cutter,with its top plate removed.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectionalview as taken alongthe lines 88of Fig. 6. V V

Fig. 9 is. a. cross-sectional view as taken along the lines 9-4 of Fig.6.

Fig. 10 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of the strip orribbon cutter.

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view as taken, along the lines Il-l| ofFig. 10.

the art-ha d Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the linesl2-l2 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the lines Iii-I3 ofFig. 12. I

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the lines l4l4 of Fig.4.

Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view as taken along the lines l5-l5 of Fig.4.

When in use, the machine mounted on a standard which may be secured to awork table 2|. In the form shown, the mounting includes a split block 22which. is tightened around the standard 20 as well as the machine tosupport it in any desired position. Motive power is derived by means ofan electric motor which drives a conventional form of flexible shaft 24.Shaft-24 drives the main shaft of the machine as will be hereinafterdescribed.

It has been known in thread cutters. to employ suction for sucking loosethreads toward the cutter to facilitate and, expedite operations. Thegeneral principle thereof is employed in the instant machine where aconventional vacuum, apparatus 25 having a hose 26 applies asuction notonly to the thread cutting elements but also to the strip cuttingportion in a manner which will hereinafter be described. In the formshown, the machine comprises two adjacent tubular housings. 21 and 28.It is to housing 21 that hose 26 is applied so that. said housing is thevacuum or suction portion of the machine. The other housing 28 containsmost of the operating mechanism for both cutters.

The thread cutter largely comprises, a hair clipper as used inbarbering, although special and important modifications have been madetherein to is generally render it suitable to the instant invention.Referring to Fig. 6, the flexible shaft 24 drives the main shaft whichextends through the elongated housing 28. Anti-friction bearing 3!supports shaft 38 at the reduced portion 32 thereof. A further reducedportion 33 is employed for driving both cutters as will hereinafter bedescribed. The rear end of shaft 38 is supported by an antifrictionbearing 34 as illustrated in Fig. 15. The rear end of housing 28 isenclosed by a back plate 35 having a threaded fitting 3B whichfacilitates the coupling of the flexible shaft 24 to the driving shaft38, through the keyway 3"! thereof.

The cutter assembly is enclosed. within or supported by the head 48which is secured as by bolts 4| to the housing 28. Reduced portion 33supports the rear eccentric disc 42 which abuts against the shoulderforming such reduced portion. Front eccentric disc 43 is connected bybolt 44 to disc 42. An eccentric spacer 45 is disposed betweentl'ie'front and rear discs, the bolt 44'- extending through an openingin' said'spacer 45. 'A free collar or sleeve 461s maintained between thediscs and around the eccentric spacer 45.1 It' will be recognizedtherefore thatzthesleev'e 46 has imparted to it an eccentric motion byvirtueof the eccentricass'embly comprising discs 42, 43 and spacer 45.Sleeve 46 has connected thereto a threaded stem 41 which supports thepost 48. Post 48 extends out 'of 'slot 49 formed in the head 48. Whereaspost 48 has a tendency torrotate pursuantto the rotation of shaft 38,being .free within the eccentric assembly, such-"rotation is limited bythe slot 49' so that thepost 48 actually oscillates within the slot. Italso reciprocate's vertically because of the eccentric motion thereof,and it is such vertical reciprocation'that is employed to drive thestrip cutter as will hereinafterbe described. c Reduced shaft portion33' is further extended to serve as a supportfor 68which iseccentricallymounted therein by set" screw BI as noted in Figs. 6 and 8. A dog '52'is'pivota'lly mounted to head-48 by pivot pin 63 which may include anintegral head 64 and such dog-82includes a depending apron 65which'isformed with a 'verwhich causes the dog 62 to pivot at 63. Theforr ward end of dog 62 is received in a slot of movable cutter blade68. The details of the cutter or clipper are conventional, and no claimto the construction thereof is made herein. However, it may be notedthat the cutter includes top plate I81, leaf spring 69 for holding themovable cutter blade 68 in position, and a stationary cutter blade I8which is mounted on a hinged plate II so that it can be swung away forservicing or the like. Movable cutter blade 68 is slidably maintainedagainst the stationary cutter blade I8 by the leaf spring 69 so thatthese parts are handled as a unit. Reference may be made to the wellknown Oster clippers for further details of the thread cutter mechanism.Essentially, the cutter operates by reciprocation of the movable,toothed cutter blade 68 which cuts threads against the bottom,stationary, toothed cutter blade I8. Toothed plate |8I Post 48 drives ablock 88 which is a link between it and the shaft 8| which actuates thestrip cutter blade 82. Inasmuch as post 48 tends to oscillate, it isconnected to block 88 through the pivotally mounted collar 83 whichfunctions as a type of universal coupling.

Post 48 is secured to collar 83 by set screws 84 and 85 as illustratedin Fig. 13. Thus, although post 48 may oscillate, the result of suchoscillation is only the rotation of collar 83 in block 88, and block 88is nevertheless vertically reciprocated at the end which receives post48. The other end of block 88 is connected to strip cutter shaft 8|through the collar 86, the set screw 81 securing shaft 8| relative tosaid collar. Collar 86 may have a slight degree of sliding movementrelative to block 88 although such movement is limited by the width ofslot 88 of block 88 in which the post 48 is received. It, will beevident, therefore, that as thepost receiving end of block 88 isvertically reciprocated, the other end, being connected to the shaft 8|,will oscillate said shaft and produce a corresponding-oscillation orreciprocation of the strip cutter blade 82-.i"' 1 :1

Strip cutter housing 98; containsanendblock 9I which is centrally bored;and providediwith bearings 9Ia for rotatably receiving the shaft 8|. Atthe outer endof shaft BI, is the strip cutter blade 82 which may beintegral with the shaft 8| if desired. Blade:82 functions with a scissoraction against the, stationarylower blade 93 which is secured to endblock 9| as by screws 94. Blade 82, due to its shearing action, moveslaterally as well as vertically, and thislateral movement is taken up bycollar 83 in block 88.

In orderthat a proper scissors or shearing action may be achievedfblade82 is set at a shearing angle relative to the cutting edge of blade 93as will be understood by those skilled in the art. The strips or othermaterial to be out are introduced directly abovethe cutting edge'ofblade 93 and the reciprocation'of blade 82 will sever such strips. Theopening for permitting such introduction may be covered or uncovered bythe upper plate 95 which is pivoted to block 8| by the pivot bolt 96,the extent of such pivoting action being limited by bolt 91 which ridesin slots 98. A handhold member 99 facilitates adjustment of the upperplate 95. It will be understood that actuation of'handhold member 99 inan upward direction will expose the opening through which strips may becut and that downward adjustment thereof will close'the opening asillustrated in Figs: 10 and 11 so that the strip cutting mechanim iseffectively disabled. The reason therefore is, as will hereinafter beexplained, to render the suction applied to the other cutter headmoreeffective. In addition, the thread cutter includes a pivoted plateI88 which can be swungupwardly and maintained in place by spring I88aand bolt I 88b so as to cover the face of the -thread-cutter for arelated purpose, that is, the 'blockingoff of suction from the threadcutter when it is desired to confine it to the strip cutter. Plate I88is pivotally connected to the apron plate |8I which is secured totubular housing 21. Plate I 8| extends outwardly of the thread cutterblades and is provided with teeth I82 which limit the size and type ofmaterials which can be cut bythe thread cutter blades and which alsotransmit suction .from housing 21 to' the thread ciitter 'teeth. Apronplate teeth I82 are spaced away? from the thread cutter teeth,suchspacing being in" the order of A; inch so that threads can be moreeasilyintroduced therein: This spacing or cutter mechanisms.

opening may be adjusted both vertically and horizontally.

2'! and it is inclined inwardly so that it directly overlies the topplate I81 of the thread cutters assembly. It is further secured by bolts108 in .slots I09 of the arm 21a to the apron plate ill! for verticaladjustmentof the thread cutter opening. Housing 2'! is adjustablysecured to housing 28 by bolts I I0 and II I which. may be adjusted inlongitudinal slots formed in the connection member H2 so that thehousing 21 may belongitudinally adjusted relative to the housing 28. Oneof the purposes thereof is to regulate the cutter opening of the threadcutter since the thereof, the suction will be induced in housing a '2!and will be branched off through the arms 21a and 21b to the threadcutter through teeth I02 and to the strip cutter through open end it ofarm 21b. This suction will, of course, pull threads or strips to thecutter blades so that they can be sheared or severed and the out pieceswill be further sucked in to a depository therefor in the vacuumapparatus. An operator, when receiving a sewn garment, will place looseor dangling threads adjacent the teeth of the thread cutter so that suchthreads will be pulled inwardly and cut or trimmed. Strips will be cutby directing such strips toward the strip cutter where they will besevered and trimmed as above described. Thus, the operation of trimminga.

sewn garment will be considerably expedited and simplified, the singleapparatus herein meeting substantially all trimming requirements. ofproduction are reduced, and the productionof garments is increased to aconsiderable extent.

The provision of swingable cover plates 95 and N is of importance inthat when either of the cutter mechanisms are not in use, the other canbe supplied with an increased suction by blocking off the mechanism notin use. It will be understood that all the suction will be directedtoward the mechanism which is uncovered and in use rather than to theonethat is covered.

Whereas I have described the housing 21 as being Y-shaped, it is evidentthat its form could be L-shaped or the like as long as one of its armsdiverges to apply suction to the other cutter. In addition, it will berecognized that numerous changes and omissions may be made withoutdeparting from'the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination strip and thread cutting machine comprising two hollow,elongated and adjacent housings, a thread cutter at one end of one ofsaid housings, one end of the other housing being Y-shaped, and a stripcutter at one end of one arm of the Y, said thread cutter being adjacentto said strip cutter, the end of the other arm of the Y being disposedin contact with said thread cutter, said strip cutter housing beingadapted to Costs I have a suction applied at its other end whereby saidsuction may be directed through its Y-shaped end to both the threadcutter and the strip cutter.

2. A machine according to claim 1 and wherein said other arm of saidY-shaped end is a longitudinal continuation of said strip cutterhousing,

and said end of the other arm of the Y being biased inwardly to effectcontact with said thread cutter so that the suction may be appliedthereto, the other arm of the Y branching outwardly relative to saidstrip cutter housing.

3. A combination strip and thread cutting machine comprising two hollow,elongated and adjacent housings, one end of one of said housings beingY-shaped, a thread cutter, a strip cutter,

said thread cutter being disposed at one end of the'other housing and incontact with the end of one of the arms of the Y and the strip cutterbeing connected to the end of the other arm of the Y, said one housingbeing adapted to have applied to its other end a suction, both of saidcutters including a movable cutter blade, and power transmissionmechanism for actuating both of said cutter blades disposed in the otherhousing.

4. A machine according to claim'3 and including movable cover plates oneach of said cutters for selectively blocking off the suction wherebyall the suction may be applied to either cutter.

5. A machine according to'clairn 4 and wherein the strip cutter coverplate comprises an elon- 6. A combination strip and thread cutting ma- Ichine comprising a strip cutter, a thread cutter, elongated tubularcutters at respective end of which said cutters are secured, both ofsaidcutters including a reciprocating cutter blade, power transmissionmechanism for actuating both of said cutter blades disposed in one ofsaid housings, and means for applying a suction through one of saidhousings to said thread cutter for sucking in threads to be out, saidmeans including a diverging channel for applying said suction to saidstrip cutter.

7. A combination strip and thread cutting machine comprising a stripcutter, a thread cutter, elongated tubular housings at respective endsof which said cutters are secured, both of said outters including areciprocating cutter blade, power transmission mechanism for actuatingboth of said cutter blades disposed in one of said housings, said powertransmission mechanism comprising an elongated shaft axially disposed insaid one housing, means at one end of said shaft for-coupling a powersource thereto, an eccentrically disposed pin at the other end of saidshaft, means to reciprocate said thread cutter blade through therevolutions of said eccentrically mounted pin when said shaft isrotated, and an eccentric disc mounted around said other end of saidshaft and adjacent said pin, and means for transmitting reciprocatingmotion of said eccentric disc to the strip cutter blade forreciprocating it.

8. A machine according to claim 7 and wherein said thread cutterincludes a pivoted dog having 1 a depending apron and a vertical slotformed therein, said pin being received in said vertical slot wherebyrevolving of said eccentric pin re- 'ciprocates said apron andpivotssaid dog for actuating the thread cutter blade, a sleeve freelydisposed'around said eccentric disc, a poster:- tending from saidsleeve, said post being vertically reciprocated pursuant to the rotationof said eccentric disc which is transmitted to said sleeve, and anoscillatory block one end of which is connected to said post, a shaftfor the strip cutter blade, the other end of the block being connectedto' said strip cutter blade shaft for reciprocating it.

9. A machine according to claim 8 wherein said block is elongated, acollar rotatably mounted in said block, saidpost being secured to saidcollar so that said collar may oscillate in said block pursuant tooscillation of said post but will'nevertheless transmit vertical motionof said post to said block.

10. A machine according to claim 8 and wherein one of said housings isadapted to have applied thereto a suction for acting against both ofsaid cutter blades to draw threads or strips thereagainst to be cut andfor sucking in the cut articles to a depository therefor, and movablecover plates against the exterior of each of said cutter blades forselectively blocking off the suction whereby all the suction may beapplied to either cutter.

11. A combination strip and thread cutting machine comprising twohollow, elongated and adjacent housings, a thread cutter at one end ofone of said housings, one end of the other housing being Y-shaped, and astrip cutter at one end of one arm of the Y, said thread cutter beingadjacent to said strip cutter, the end of the other arm of the Y beingdisposed in contact with said threadcutter, each of said cuttersincluding a reciprocating cutter blade, power transmission mechanism foractuating both of said cutter blades disposed in said one housing, saidother Y-shaped housing being adapted to have a uction applied to the endof the lower or center arm of the Y whereby said suction may be directedthrough the diverging upper arms of the Y to both the thread cutter andthe strip cutter, said power transmission mechanism including a mainshaft axially disposed in said one housing, an eccentrically disposedpin on the inner end face of said shaft, said thread cutter including apivoted dog for reciprocating its cutter blade,

said dog having a depending apron and a vertical slot formed therein,said pin being received in said vertical slot whereby revolving of saideccentric pin reciprocates said apron and pivots said dog for actuatingthe thread cutter blade, a sleeve freely disposed around said ecentricdisc, a post extending from said sleeve, said post being verticallyreciprocate'd pursuantto the rotation of said eccentric disc which is,transmitted to said sleeve, and an oscillatory block one end of which isconnected to' said post, a shaft forthe strip cutter blade, the otherend of the block being connected to said strip cutter blade shaft forreciprocating it, and movable cover plates against the exterior of eachof said cutter blades for selectively blocking oil" the suction wherebyall the suction may be applied to either cutter.

12. A combination strip and thread cutting machine comprising twohollow, elongated and adjacent housings, one end of one of said housingsbeing Y-shaped, a thread cutter, a strip cutter, said thread cutterbeing disposed at one :end of the other housing and in contact with theend of one of the arms of the Y and the strip cutter being connected tothe end of the other arm of the Y, said one housing being adapted tohave applied to its other end a suction, both of said outter including amovable cutter blade, power transmission mechanism for actuating both ofsaid cutter blades disposed in the other housing, said thread cuttermovable blade being toothed, a stationary toothed blade cooperatingtherewith to cut threads, and an apron plate disposed'immediatelyadjacent said thread cutter blades, said apron plate having teeth whichare laterally spaced from the teeth of said thread cutter blades, saidapron plate being connected to said one end of said one arm of theY-shaped housing, said Y-shaped housing being longitudinally adjustablerelative to said'other' housing whereby said apron plate spacing fromsaid thread cutter blades may be adjusted by longitudinally adjustingthe housings relative to each other.

13. A combination strip and thread cutting machine comprising a stripcutter, a thread cutter, elongated tubular housings at respective endsof which said housings are secured, both of said cutters including areciprocating cutter blade, power transmission mechanism for actuatingbothof said cutter blades disposed in one of said housings, a platehaving an opening formed there across connected at the end of the stripcutter so that its opening is maintained adjacent the thread cutterblade, said housings being intersecured and being adjustablelongitudinally relative to each other so that said plate may be movedlongitudinally under said thread cutter blade, said plate openingdefining the thread cutter opening whereby longitudinal adjustment ofthe respective housings varie the extent of said thread cutter openingrelative to said thread cutter blade.

1%. A machine according to claim 13 and wherein said plate is adjustablevertically on the end of said strip cutter housing for adjusting theopening of said thread cutter vertically.

JULIUS RUBIN.

No references cited.

